1. Cognitive Development

2. How does the thinking of adolescents differ from that of children and adults? Overview of today’s lecture:  The nature of adolescent thinking  Changes in brain growth  Implications

3. How many different outfits can be made with the following clothes: H 3 tops: t-shirt, polo shirt, dress shirt H 3 pants: jeans, khakis, shorts H 3 jackets: fleece, rain, winter

4. Characteristics of Adolescent Cognition (1) Thinking about Possibilities (2) Thinking about Abstract Concepts

5. Characteristics of Adolescent Cognition (3) Thinking in Multiple Dimensions (4) Metacognition (5) Relativism

6. Self-descriptions Early Childhood (3-5) “I’m 3 years old and I live in a big house with my mom and dad and my brother, Jason, and my sister Lisa. I have blue eyes and a kitty that is orange and a television in my own room. I know all of my abc’s…I can run real fast…”

7. Early to Middle Childhood (5-7) “I have a lot of friends, in my neighborhood, at school, and at church. I’m good at schoolwork, I know my words, and letters and my numbers. I can run fast, and I can climb high…I can throw a ball real far, and I’m going to be on some kind of team when I am older. I can do lots of stuff real good…”

8. Late Childhood / Early Adol. (8-11) “I’m in fourth grade this year and I’m pretty popular, at least with the girls. That’s because I’m nice to people and helpful and can keep secrets. Mostly I’m nice to my friends, although if I’m in a bad mood I sometimes say something mean. I try to control my temper but when I don’t I’m ashamed…At school I’m pretty smart in certain subjects like Language Arts …”

9. Important Issues to Bear in Mind 1. Potential vs. Performance 2. Reasoning dependent on familiarity with the content 3. Cannot consider cognitive dev’t. separate from other issues 4. Social factors that shape adolescent thinking

10. Neuroscience Research on Brain Growth §What are key findings of recent research on brain growth? l Dr. Jay Giedd

11. What is developing? §Prefrontal Cortex §Corpus Callosum §Cerebellum §Amygdala

12. Implications §Policy l What does this imply for changes in policies and programs for adolescents? §Caution l Knowing about the structure of the brain does not tell us about the function of the brain. §Popular Press Depictions l Teen brain insane?! NO!!! §Teaching & Learning